


Looks like a trash heap

by SemperAeternumQue



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, IT'S THE TRAUMA, Misgendering, Nonbinary Party Poison (Danger Days), Sexual Harassment, Violence, also my oc who's a dick getting stabbed, cherri cola and i both look 5 years older than we are lol, cherri's old friends are huge assholes, death mentions, kobra kid and newsie are there for like 10 seconds, this has 0 plot beyond me getting to unveil cherri cola backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:14:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26228500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemperAeternumQue/pseuds/SemperAeternumQue
Summary: On a mission to some shady place in the middle of nowhere, Party Poison meets some of Cherri Cola's old friends and finds out more about his backstory than they had ever expected to know- and turns out, he's twenty-eight and can stab people. Who knew? (Kobra. Kobra knew. Also Newsie.)
Relationships: Agent Cherri Cola & Party Poison (Danger Days)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	Looks like a trash heap

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys this is literally a trainwreck I really hope you like it.
> 
> Warnings: sexual harassment, brief misgendering, blood, violence, death mentions (+ some heavy threatening)
> 
> Pronouns:  
> Cherri Cola - he/him  
> Party Poison - they/them  
> Kobra Kid - he/him  
> NewAGoGo - she/they  
> Mastermind (oc) - he/him  
> Toxic Blade (oc) - he/him

Party Poison stood outside the shady-looking house, half-wondering to themself how they always got roped into these things. Something about Dr. D’s gentle persuasion always got them to agree to whatever batshit mission he wanted them to go on now. Even when they had to go with Cherri Cola.

“We’ll need to be careful,” Cherri said from beside them. “This is not a good place.”

“No shit. Looks like a trash heap.”

“No, really, it’s dangerous. Please follow my lead, okay? I haven’t been here in years, but I remember the usual crowd that frequents this party house.”

Poison gave him a glare. “Fine, but I’m going to be a little bitch about it.”

Cherri sighed. “I guess that’s the best I’m going to get.”

“Yep.”

“Alright. Plan is, we get in, find the killjoy who D made a trade deal with, and get out as fast and inconspicuously as possible.”

“Yeah, I remember.” They restrained themself from rolling their eyes at him.

“Okay, just checking.”

Cherri led them in, where Poison immediately took a disliking to the place. It was crowded, and noisy in a way they distinctly disliked. The crowd felt less than friendly, nowhere near the same atmosphere as a concert or an actual  _ fun _ party. Poison was vaguely grateful to have Cherri there, even if they didn’t think he’d be much use in a fight. At least they weren’t alone as they made their way across the packed room.

All of the sudden, Poison heard a shout. “Cola! Cherri Cola! I haven’t seen you in ages!”

Poison thought they heard Cherri sigh faintly as they turned to see the tall, burly killjoy who was shouting to him across the crowded room. “Hello, Mastermind!”

The killjoy pushed through the crowd, coming over to clap Cherri on the shoulder. “What are you doing here, Cola?”

“I’m on a job for a friend.” There was a slight tension in his voice that set Poison on edge. Whoever this ‘Mastermind’ was, it was clear that Cherri wasn’t a fan of him.

“All work, all the time with you, huh? Not been getting in any fights?”

“Nope.”

The stranger chuckled. “Sounding rather uptight for you, Cola. Then again, it’s been a while.”

“It’s been years. I have a family. A home.”

“Getting old, huh?” ‘Mastermind’ turned to Poison, giving them a grin that they very much did not appreciate. “And how about this one? Is he yours?”

“ _ They _ are mine,” Cherri agreed, voice tight. 

“More attractive than you,” the other leered. “And that  _ is _ saying something.”

Poison’s discomfort must have shown on their face because Cherri reached out and put an arm around them, pulling them close. “They are a  _ child _ , Mastermind.”

“Alright, alright. Who’s the mom, then?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“Rather rude to your old pal, aren’t you?” Mastermind was leaning close, almost close enough to smell his breath (which Poison was sure would be awful). He was taller than Cherri by not an insignificant amount, which made him a  _ lot _ taller than Poison. They weren’t so much a fan of that, especially not with his threatening air. “Perhaps I should give your child here a little tour of the place.”

Before Poison had time to react to that, Mastermind was staggering backward and there was a knife in Cherri’s hand. 

“Get away from them or I’ll slash your throat and let you bleed to death in front of your friend who harassed me when I was seventeen,” Cherri hissed. “I was the most dangerous person in the desert by the time I turned twenty, don’t you forget.”

Mastermind was clutching his hand, which was bleeding heavily. “Fuck! Get fucked, Cola!”

“You won’t be the one doing the fucking!” Cherri spat after him.

Mastermind turned around to flip Cherri off one more time before hurrying away, still cradling his left hand.

“Who the fuck was that and why did you tell them I was your child?” Poison demanded as Cherri grabbed their hand and pulled them a different direction.

“Mastermind. Knew him before the Analog Wars, he and I used to hang around the same shitty places. He’s less likely to be a dick to you if he thinks you’re my kid, I scare the shit out of him.”

Poison couldn’t help but scoff. “You? Really? Scare that dickhead?”

Cherri held up the knife, which was still clutched in his other hand. “You saw how fast I drew this. Autumn taught me how to fight, and they were damn good at it, too.”

“I don’t know who the fuck that is.”

“Autumn Assassin. They were an important person during the Analog Wars- still are important, really, they run the Nest.”

“You’re old.”

“Fuck off.” His tone made it clear that he didn’t really mean it. “But seriously, for the purposes of this visit, please go along with the story that you’re my kid. It will give you at least  _ some _ protection.”

“How does that math even work?”

Cherri winced. “It doesn’t, but, no offense, you look young for seventeen and I look old for twenty-eight. No one will question it.”

They almost did a double take. “You’re only  _ twenty-eight _ ?”

“I think you just proved my point.”

“I thought you were older than Doctor D!”

Cherri was leading them towards the back of the room now. “Surprise.”

“Wait, how old is he, then?”

“Thirty-two.”

“At least I knew  _ their _ age!” Poison kept a grip on Cherri’s hand, not wanting to be pulled away by the crowd. “I was so sure you were old as fuck.”

“I was twenty when the Analog Wars started. D was twenty-four.”

“Shit, you weren’t that much older than me. How old were you when you came out to the desert, then?”

“Sixteen.” Cherri’s answers were getting shorter, but Poison couldn’t tell if he was pissed at them or just concentrating. They thought it was the second, as he was switching directions frequently while moving through the crowd as if attempting to avoid certain people. 

Poison decided they actually should stop distracting him, so much as it rankled their pride, they shut up and let him lead the way to one of the back corners, where a killjoy in a blood-red mask in a similar style to Poison’s and almost all black otherwise was waiting. 

“I’m assuming you’re here for the package?” Their voice was raspy.

“Yes, we are.”

“And your name is?”

“Cherri Cola.” He didn’t introduce Poison, which they didn’t mind very much. They didn’t think they wanted people here knowing they were the ‘legendary’ Party Poison.

“Cherri Cola, huh?” The ‘joy frowned. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in years.”

“I was off the map for a while.” Poison could see the tension in his posture.

“Word has it you don’t fight anymore.”

“Not much, no.”

“Huh. Well, a deal’s a deal, and I struck one with that friend of yours. They did mention they were sending someone else to pick up the supplies, so here you are. I expect payment first, though,” they added.

Cherri handed them a bag of carbons, which they immediately started counting as he reached for the crate. From what Poison understood, it held a variety of things from water filtering devices to candy, most of which were rare but vital. 

“Can you carry this?” Cherri asked them.

“Lazy.”

“I want to be ready to fight if things go costa rica.”

Poison eyed him. “I can fight, you know.”

“And I know half the people in this room and how to hit them where it hurts. I’m not letting anyone hurt you.” 

They took the crate.

Cherri gave them a grateful look as he thanked the nameless killjoy they had traded with and turned to lead Poison out. “Thanks, Pois.”

“Don’t call me that.”

"Noted."

The duo made it outside mostly without incident. Mostly being the key word in that sentence. 

As they were almost to the door, they were stopped by Mastermind again, this time with an equally unpleasant friend.

“Oh, hello, Toxic Blade,” Cherri sighed. “Hello again, Mastermind.”

Mastermind leered at him. “I hope you two weren’t thinking of leaving right as the party was getting started, were you? You might be a father now, Cola, but you’re always going to be one of us.”

“I’m afraid not, gentlejoys. I’ve got to get home.”

“Oh, to what?”

“My boyfriend. Fuck off.”

As far as Poison knew, Cherri didn’t have a boyfriend, but they played along. “Yeah, and I want to get back to my brother.”

“We’d hate to keep you, then,” Toxic Blade hissed.

“Boyfriend? As if anyone would date you,” Mastermind snorted. 

“Says the killjoy who’s been eyeing me for years. Get out of my way.” Cherri’s voice was cold.

Mastermind smirked. “No.”

The knife was back in Cherri’s hand again faster than Poison could blink, and he slashed it across Mastermind’s face, leaving a cut on the other’s cheek. “I won’t hesitate to harm you.”

Toxic Blade lunged for him, but Poison stuck out a foot to trip them and the other went sprawling face-first onto the ground as Cherri and Mastermind fought. It was clear that even out of practice, Cherri was the superior fighter, getting the upper hand fairly easily. 

“You always were shit at knife fights, Mastermind.”

Mastermind, now bleeding from multiple wounds, snarled. “You’ll regret this, Cola.”

“If you think you can hurt me, you’re wrong.” Cherri’s knife was pressed against the other killjoy’s throat. “I’ve been through hell already, nothing you can do to me could ever match losing two sisters in the same day. And you couldn’t beat me in a fight even if my hands were tied behind my back anyways.” He released the knife, shoving the other ‘joy away. “Now leave me and my kid the fuck alone.” 

Mastermind staggered away.

Poison glanced up at Cherri as he stepped back, breathing heavily. “Can we go home now? This is heavy and my arms fucking hurt.”

“Sorry, Pois. Yeah, let’s go.” Cherri was quiet as they made their way back to where they had left his truck, not letting go of the bloody knife. He only tucked it away once they were both safely back to the truck, climbing silently into the driver’s seat as Poison went around the back to haul the crate in.

Once they were done, they climbed into shotgun, finding Cherri was slumped over the wheel. “Cola?”

His shoulders were shaking, and Poison reached out a cautious hand. “Cherri?”

That did the trick, forcing Cherri to look up at them with tear tracks on his cheeks. “Yeah?”

“You….okay?”

He tried and failed to wipe his eyes, only succeeding in smearing dirt and Mastermind’s blood all over his face. “Not really.”

“Do you uh, want a hug?”

Cherri nodded wordlessly, and Poison awkwardly reached to wrap their arms around him. His returning hug was soft, but in a way that felt more fragile than gentle. Cherri hugs were warm and safe and strong; at least, that was the usual. For him to hug so delicately, as if Poison would shatter or he would if he held tighter, was rare and alarming. 

So they squeezed him tightly, wondering a bit to themself exactly how they had gotten into this situation, and gave him a moment to pull himself together.

“I’m sorry,” Cherri whispered finally. “I was trying to avoid running into people I knew, especially since I knew Mastermind would be a creep to you.”

“You literally threatened to kill him if he didn’t get away from me,” Poison pointed out. “I think you did fine.”

“And I would have done it, too.” He let out a little hiccupping sob. “I would have done it. Mastermind was my friend, once, but it was…a long time ago. Not as long as I would like, but a long time. I was a different person.”

“Is that when you learned to fight like that?” So Poison was curious, sue them.

Cherri nodded, running a tired hand across his face. “I was a fighter once. Almost what you’d call a crash queen, but not as shiny. You should…You could ask D to tell you the stories. He talks about it easier than I do, but he doesn’t know everything. I never told him about some of the ‘joys I befriended, some of the dumb shit we did and brawls we got in. It was easiest that way. Easiest not to talk about it, pretend I wasn’t falling apart.”

“And you’re not falling apart now?”

“Hey! Not as much as…not as much as I used to be. The Analog Wars were the breaking point. Lily, Sammy, Greenleaf…”

Poison glanced at the grief on his face and knew on some innate level that he was reciting a list of the dead. “So you crashed and burned.”

“And didn’t die, no thanks to my own stupidity. D, Newsie, Chimp, Pony… they’re the people to thank. Saved my life, not just in battle. Also that, though.”

“I didn’t know you ever fought.”

“I don’t talk about it.” Cherri turned the keys in the ignition. “Put your seatbelt on.”

“Fine,  _ dad _ .”

“You’re never going to let me live this one down, are you?”

“Nope.” Poison did buckle their seatbelt, though, if rather reluctantly.

About ten minutes into the drive, a though occurred to them. “Hey, Pepsi, why does D send me with you so often?”

“I told you, it’s Cola. And…I care about you.”

“How the fuck is that relevant?” Poison ignored the slight warmth those words brought.

“D knows I won’t fight that hard for my own life. But yours, I will. Any of your crew, really, but I think he justifies sending you because as far as we know, you’re the oldest.” 

“So you’re telling me if I wasn’t there, you wouldn’t have stabbed that guy?”

“Probably not. It’s not as bad for him to mess with me- I’m used to his bullshit. If you hadn’t been here, though, I doubt I would have made it out. Two on one while I’m holding a crate isn’t my best odds. Besides the fact that Toxic Blade poisons his knives; he’s shit at poisons, but it’s still very unpleasant to get stabbed by one.”

“Getting stabbed sucks ass in general.”

“True that.” Cherri sighed, turning them down a dusty road. “Anyways, there’s your answer. He sends me because I’m willing to do any stupidly dangerous thing and he sends you so I don’t get myself killed doing the stupidly dangerous things.”

“Smart plan, really. I’m even starting to trust you.” That was a lie if Poison had ever told one, and boy had they. Cherri might have still been slightly on their shit list because of his friendship with Kobra, but some part of them trusted him on an innate level. They had taken that crate, after all, trusted that Cherri would defend them if need be. Which hadn’t proved to be a bad decision, but wasn’t one they made lightly.

Thankfully, Cherri didn’t call them out on their bullshit. “Well, I’m glad for that.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I do care, you know.”

“Whatever.” They caught him wince and looked away, suddenly feeling a little bit of guilt.

“I’d say I don’t have to care if you’d rather I not, but that’s not how I work and never has been.” Cherri’s voice was wry. “I’ll care regardless of if you do.”

“No I-“ Poison found themself fiddling with their jacket. “I don’t- it’s kinda nice. That you’d fight that guy for me.” It was the closest they were going to get to admitting they cared too. Not that they did, obviously. No. Not at all.

Cherri’s grin was soft. “Well, I’m glad.”

Poison was quiet the rest of the ride back, and Cherri didn’t push. In fact, he was also silent, taking them down the roads to the radio station with practiced ease.

“Home we go, no need for you to be stuck with me any longer,” he joked.

“Eh. Wasn’t  _ that _ bad.” Poison hopped out of the truck after Cherri, yawning. “You get to carry the crate this time, though.”

“Fair enough.” Cherri picked it up, kicking the door open. 

“I’m trying to sleep, fucker!” Newsie’s voice shouted from somewhere.

“It’s eight pm!”

“You don’t even know that!”

“Fuck off! Also, where’s D?”

“Doing some radio show,” Newsie yawned as she tromped into the living room. “It’s almost the end of his, but you know. Never stops fucking working, that guy.”

“Is Kobra here already?”

“Radioed him that you guys should be back soon, he’ll be here in no time, I’m sure. Hey, Party.”

Poison waved to her as Cherri set the box down. “Hey, Newsie.”

“What’s up? Did you have a fun time with my bastard of a brother?”

“Nah, we almost got stabbed too many times for that.” They gave the other a small grin. “He wasn’t too much of a bastard, though.”

“I was very non-bastard-y,” Cherri said with as much dignity as one could when using the phrase ‘non-bastard-y’. “Except to Mastermind, I was a huge bastard to him.”

“He deserves it, though,” Newsie laughed.

“He does.”

Before long, Kobra’s bike had pulled up outside of the radio station, and Poison hauled themself off the sofa. “Bye, I guess.”

“Goodbye. Thank you for the help, Poison,” Cherri told them sincerely. 

“Bye, thanks for stabbing a guy for me.” They hesitated briefly. “Cherri.”

They ignored the shock on Newsie’s face and the small grin on Cherri’s as they walked out, hearing Newsie exclaim “I don’t think they’ve called you anything but Pepsi in living memory!”

“Have a good evening?” Kobra deadpanned as Poison slid onto the bike behind him.

“Nope, but Cola threatened to stab a bitch for me, so that was fun. Did you know he’s only twenty-eight?”

“Yeah, I knew that. Did you not?”

“My life is a lie! I thought he was…old. Really old.”

“You’re an airhead,” Kobra snorted.

“Fuck you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this wreck, come yell at me on tumblr if you want @always-and-forever-a-killjoy!


End file.
